1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cotton harvester and, more specifically, to an improved basket and basket unloading system for such a harvester. 2) Related Art
Cotton harvesters include a large cotton receptacle or basket supported on the main frame for receiving cotton during harvesting. Dumping the basket into a wagon or module builder typically involves either pivoting the entire filled basket approximately 90 degrees about a fore-and-aft extending dump-side pivotal axis and discharging cotton through a raised lid portion, such as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,160, or raising the basket vertically in a level position and conveying the packed cotton out a side discharge opening such as is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,617. In a third type of basket arrangement, which is shown is U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,862,342 and 2,723,769, the dump side of the basket is pivoted upwardly about a fore-and-aft extending axis located near the basket floor at the side of the basket opposite the dump side.
There is a substantial shift in the center of gravity with a conventional pivoting basket, and a side conveyor provides further weight distribution problems. Additionally, the dump height is fixed with such a pivoting basket. The mast and pivot assemblies supporting the basket bear increased loads during dumping and have to be quite massive. Although ballasting and stabilizer cylinders have been added to the harvester to alleviate problems caused by the shift in center of gravity, basket volume is still limited by the shift. Also, a relatively complex pivoting lid structure is required to provide a dump opening. Since compacting augers are supported by both the pivoting and non-pivoting portions of the lid structure, an additional auger drive motor is also necessary. Trash accumulated on the tops of such baskets often falls into the cotton as the basket pivots towards the dump side. Substantial basket rigidity is required to keep the pivoting basket square.
Baskets which are raised vertically in a level position require relatively complicated and expensive lift structure. Because the basket must be lifted a substantial distance for unloading into a module builder, the corresponding upward shift in center of gravity of the basket can lead to stability problems. Accurately unloading the vertically raised or pivoting basket into the front and rear of the module builder during the topping off process is difficult, and often cotton falls to ground and must be picked up by hand.
Previously suggested configurations with baskets which are pivoted about an axis near the floor required basket rotations of at least approximately 30 degrees to provide sufficient height for dumping into a module builder or other receiving device. With the pivot generally level with the dump edge of the basket, any rotation upwardly from the field-working position resulted in the dump edge moving laterally inwardly relative to the dump side of the harvester so that a longer side conveyor extension had to be used to move the cotton over the receiving device during dumping. The floor pivot baskets also were difficult to unload with sufficient precision for topping off the receiving device.